Conference media days have wrapped up for each of the AQ conferences, and fall practices leading up to the first weekend of the college football season are about to begin. One focal point of each conference kickoff event is an annual poll of media members, voting on the preseason ranking for the division races and overall conference title chases that lie ahead.

Unlike in the BCS rankings, polls (mercifully) have no role in determining conference championships. The preseason vote has little significance beyond determining which teams have the most initial media attention this season and which conference contenders may be flying somewhat under the radar.

Which teams that didn't win over the voters are favored by our projections to win division and conference title races? Let's take a look.

Look no further than the Bearcats for a potential conference champion that few are paying any attention to at this point in the year. The Louisville Cardinals earned 28 of 30 first-place votes in Tuesday's American Athletic Conference media ballot, and Cardinals quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is a preseason Heisman favorite. Cincinnati, on the other hand, is breaking in a new head coach in Tommy Tuberville and doesn't boast much star power on its roster. So why do our Football Outsiders preseason projections like the Bearcats to defy media expectations and claim the American Athletic Conference's BCS bowl bid?

To read more from Brian Fremeau on teams the projections like more than the voters, sign up for Insider today.

Brian Fremeau

• Has been a contributor to ESPN Insider and ESPN The Magazine since 2009
• Creator of the Fremeau Efficiency Index (FEI), a measure of college football team efficiency
• Contributor to Football Outsiders and his own site, bcftoys.com

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